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  • - Tax day is April 17th, but the sooner you file,

  • the sooner you can get your tax refund.

  • The IRS actually recommends that American tax payers

  • file their taxes online and they also say

  • you should request your refunds via direct deposit.

  • So we decided to take a closer look at the

  • two most popular online tax filing systems

  • to see which one is better.

  • So I'm here with Anya who beat us all to the punch

  • when it comes to doing your taxes.

  • She is a true early bird and has already filled out

  • her tax return on not just one online filing service,

  • but two and we're here to find out which one

  • she liked better.

  • So what type of taxpayer would you say you are?

  • I'm filing one income this year.

  • Last year, I was filing two for my business insider

  • internship and from my freelancing gig.

  • So that was a little more complicated.

  • This year, I'd say I'm a much more streamlined taxpayer

  • because I only have one income to worry about

  • as opposed to two.

  • - [Interviewer] Why did you use Turbo Tax last year and

  • are there certain taxpayers you think

  • that it might be better for?

  • - So last year I started off using H&R Block.

  • It was going very well at first,

  • then when it came time to file my freelancer income,

  • I found it much more complicated.

  • It was quite unclear how to move forward,

  • so I ended up going to Turbo Tax.

  • It was a breeze.

  • I just filed, you know, my regular business insider income

  • and my freelancer income and it was not an issue at all.

  • If you are somebody who has side projects,

  • side hustles, you're a freelancer,

  • Turbo Tax is probably better.

  • It really allows you to skip back and forth

  • between different stages of the process.

  • Seems a bit more acclimated to people who

  • have multiple sources of income.

  • - [Interviewer] Which service was easier

  • to go through the process?

  • - So they were both very similar in that they both had

  • very intuitive interfaces that kind of

  • keep the process flowing and also answer questions

  • along the way as you're going through it.

  • I found H&R Block more streamlined,

  • a little bit more intuitive than Turbo Tax

  • but they're both pretty similar in terms of

  • how you use them.

  • - [Interviewer] Which one had something that

  • really stood out as a pain point?

  • Something that was kind of annoying.

  • - Turbo Tax because they're very pushy about

  • trying to get you to upgrade to their paid services.

  • They keep taking you back to the screen

  • where you're able to select different options

  • and just basically asking are you sure

  • you want to do this for free and it's kind of like,

  • yes, I am sure, and they basically

  • show you all your information saying,

  • we did your taxes last year.

  • You're 50% complete if you upgrade to plus now.

  • And when I declined and went to the free service instead,

  • it kind of makes a point of showing you

  • losing all your information and I felt that was

  • a bit passive aggressive.

  • And it's a stark contrast to H&R Block

  • which was very much easier to use in the sense

  • it doesn't make you set up an account right away.

  • You can kind of go through it.

  • It does ask you if you want to upgrade,

  • but it just feels less insistent,

  • less, you know, making you

  • second guess yourself essentially.

  • - [Interviewer] What was one of the major differences

  • you noticed between the two different services?

  • - So, H&R Block's service is incredibly linear

  • which I liked personally because it just

  • takes you from beginning to end

  • and it's a very straight forward march to the end.

  • In terms of Turbo Tax, it really allows you

  • to jump around more, I felt, in terms of its interface.

  • You could start one thing, leave it, go to something else.

  • That might appeal to different personalities

  • based on how you like to work.

  • - [Interviewer] Given your experience,

  • which service would you ultimately recommend?

  • - I'd say, if you're like me, and you are

  • filing for one income, both are good.

  • H&R Block, for me, was better just in terms

  • of its interface and the way I was able to

  • kind of breeze through it essentially.

  • So if you don't have to worry about other

  • free lancing or side gig income,

  • I would say H&R Block is probably best.

  • - Okay cool, so H&R Block is your pick?

  • - Actually, this year I'll be using Turbo Tax

  • to file my taxes.

  • - That seems like it goes against what you just said though.

  • - Well, I already have an account on there.

  • I'm all set up.

  • They have all my information even though they

  • made a point of stripping it all away

  • when I didn't upgrade.

  • I'm used to it and they're both so similar that

  • you now, I just feel like might as well start an

  • ongoing relationship with one of them

  • as opposed to switching back and forth.

  • - That makes sense.

  • I mean it is nice when you have all of your tax returns

  • in one place, but if you do want to switch back and forth

  • every year, you can just download the PDF

  • and keep your own digital copy.

  • Thanks so much for doing your taxes early

  • so the rest of us could heed your advice.

  • - Thanks for having me. (laughing)

- Tax day is April 17th, but the sooner you file,

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